Sport

Bajans here to deny Jamaica 5th straight crown, says manager

BARBADOS team manager Livingston Coppin believes his players are well-equipped to deny Jamaica a fifth straight hold on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) four-day title when the sides meet in the championship match at Sabina Park, starting tomorrow.

Barbados are without several players who are engaged with the West Indies team, but Coppin is confident that the squad which arrived in the island yesterday, has the depth to beat the reigning champions.

“We are without some players, but the reserves have fitted in quite nicely and the spirit is quite high within the team. It is a strong unit and our expectations are pretty high. It should be a very good game and it is the final so it is important and obviously from this the champions will be decided,” the manager said.

Premier fast bowlers Fidel

Edwards and Kemar Roach, as well as top-order batsmen Kirk Edwards and Kraigg Brathwaite are part of the regional team set up competing against the touring Australians.

The quartet was present when the sides clashed earlier in the season, but Jamaica marched to victory inside three days on a dry Sabina Park pitch, en route to maximum points at the end of the preliminary stage.

Though beaten twice during the first phase, Barbados soldiered on to secure second place in the standings behind the Jamaicans.

The teams then recorded big wins in respective semifinal encounters.

Jamaica beat Guyana by 133 runs at Sabina, and Barbados defeated arch rivals Trinidad & Tobago by a 227-run margin at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain.

Meanwhile, Coppin insisted that Barbados have good coverage in the pace bowling department to worry the Jamaicans.

“We have Tino Best and we have good back-up players in Javon Searles and Carlos Brathwaite to bowl pace. Searles has looked pretty sharp since he came into the team. We have looked good and we have been doing some good work (training) at home (in Barbados),” he said.

Captained by all-rounder Shamarh Brooks, the Barbados team also possesses a few talented batsmen, namely lefthanders Jonathan Carter and Omar Phillips, as well as the stylish middle-order batsman Kyle Hope.